The Dangers of Fathers Talking
by AngelGirl569
Summary: Astrid and Hiccup have been dating in secret, but their fathers' announcements of arranged marriages might force them to go public. A tale of romance, despair, and dramatic irony.
**I've never written a How To Train Your Dragon story before! Obviously this is Hiccup x Astrid. Our tale takes place during the time of Race to the Edge, the Netflix series when the kids are about eighteen or so. If you haven't seen it, check it out. It's hilarious.**

* * *

It was a quiet, dark night on Berk. The moon was hidden behind clouds that forewarned a possible rain storm. The people of Berk were all fast asleep. The loyal dragons were sleeping as well, and their quiet snores echoed through the hills. But two young people were wide awake. Hidden by an overhanging cliff edge, a small cove lay hidden from the rest of Berk's sprawling beaches. The smallest bit of starlight made the wet rocks glimmer underneath Astrid's body as she lounged back to look up at the stars above. It was peaceful out here at night, nothing like the boisterously loud daytime in the village. A cool breeze blew by, and Astrid shivered.

"He's never been this late," she murmured to herself, and combed her bangs back nervously. As if on cue, Hiccup's lanky form emerged from around the corner.

"Hey, Astrid!" he called, and jogged over to her.

"Hiccup, shush!" Astrid hissed. "We don't want anyone to hear us."

He nodded. "You're right. Wouldn't want to wake the whole village and get them excited about us."

Astrid gave a small huff and stood to pull Hiccup into a hug. "I'm glad you came."

"Well of course," Hiccup replied, and placed a soft kiss in her hair. "We don't get to see each other much when we come back to Berk for visits."

"I wish we could just stay on Dragon's Edge," Astrid replied. She took Hiccup's hand and guided him to the rocks. The pair lay down next to each other, eyes locked on the stars, their hands still intertwined. "I don't like having to pretend," she murmured.

Hiccup sighed. "I know, hon. But we agreed, it's best that we keep our relationship secret. If the villagers, if our parents found out we were together, we would lose all of our independence. It wouldn't look good for two young people who are romantically involved to be living right next to each other with no adult supervision. Especially considering that I'm the chief's son!"

"And my family has enough gossip going around about them. They don't need any rumors about their daughter sneaking around with her boyfriend. Can you imagine the stories that the villagers would come up with?" Astrid laughed wearily.

"Have you heard?" Hiccup crowed, mimicking the village women's chattering voice. "Hiccup has been sneaking about with that Hofferson girl! Wonder when they'll get married?"

"Oh Hiccup," Astrid laughed. "You underestimate what girls deal with."

Hiccup propped himself up on one elbow to give his girlfriend a questioning smile. "Then enlighten me."

"Well," Astrid stood and placed her hands on her hips. With a sassy falsetto, she said, "That little tart, Astrid, has been sleeping around, throwing away her purity to try and trap that poor chief's son. Probably trying to get him to marry her. She always was a tricky one, that girl."

Gently, Hiccup pulled his girlfriend close. "I promise," he murmured. "I won't let them say that kind of stuff to you."

"At least our friends have been good about all this," Astrid muttered to him.

The two lay back down on the rocks and stared up at the sky. "I'm glad they've kept all this to themselves," Hiccup said. "Teasing aside, our friends have been surprisingly supportive."

"It just sucks when we have to sneak around like this when we're back on Berk."

"Well, we'll be back at Dragon's Edge in a few days. That's not too long to wait." Hiccup said, ever the optimist.

Astrid rolled over to curl her body up to Hiccup's, resting her head on his chest. "Let's just stay like this until we have to leave, alright?"

Hiccup wrapped his arms around her body and kissed her hair again. "I love you," he whispered with a smile.

"I love you too," Astrid said with a laugh, and graced him with a sweet kiss on the lips.

The pair parted ways just before sunrise. Toothless gave Hiccup a knowing smile when he saw his human friend sneaking in, which Hiccup returned with a sheepish grin. Once he reached the bed, Hiccup kicked off his boot, shrugged out of his outerwear, and placed his leg on the nearby nightstand. The pile of blankets and furs welcomed him into the warm embrace of sleep shortly afterwards.

* * *

"Hiccup!" Stoick's booming voice woke Hiccup when the sun was high above Berk. Toothless had knocked the curtains shut so as not to wake his friend, but no one could ignore the chief's yelling. "Wake up, son! Do you sleep this late back on Dragon's Edge? Is that why you all are so slow in catching Dagur?"

Hiccup groaned and rubbed his eyes. "I'm getting up, Dad. Toothless was restless last night, had to take him out for a flight so he would calm down enough to sleep."

"You and that dragon of yours," Stoick muttered fondly. "Come down for some breakfast - excuse me, lunch! I need to talk to you about something."

Toothless rolled his eyes as if to say, "Thanks for throwing me under the bus, friend."

"Sorry, bud." Hiccup scratched the black dragon behind the ear, and earned a smile. "Can't have dad questioning things too much, can we?" Toothless nodded with patient understanding.

Downstairs, Stoick lounged at the round wooden table, which was now laden with food. He flipped through a book on weaponry, adjusted the table cloth, picked his nails...anything to pass the time. Finally, tired of waiting, he roared, "Hiccup! Hurry up, would you?" And slammed his fist onto the table, jostling the dishes.

"I'm here, I'm here!" Hiccup said, appearing at the stairs. "Oh wow," the teenager said, eying the food. "What's the occasion? I don't usually get roasted goose for breakfast."

Stoick cleared his throat and began dishing out the food. "Son, I have to discuss something with you. It's rather important, you see. It concerns your future here on Berk."

Hiccup froze with his fork speared into a slice of wild salmon. "Please tell me you're not retiring early."

"No, nothing like that. It's actually very good news!" Stoick gave a nervous smile, and popped an egg into his mouth.

"Alright," Hiccup said as he spread jam on a slice of bread. "So what is it?"

Stoick took a breath, squared his shoulders, and put a strong hand on his son's shoulder. "Hiccup, I've arranged a bride for you."

* * *

"What?" Astrid cried. "What do you mean, you arranged a husband for me? Don't I get a say in this?"

Her father rubbed his temples. "Astrid, please. It's too early in the morning for all this yelling."

"Fine." Astrid lowered her voice, but remained stern. "So, explain all this then."

"You're at marrying age," her father explained. "You're young, beautiful, strong, smart...you're a very desirable young girl, Astrid. I've had village men asking me for your hand for quite some time now. But, I always told them that you were too young. Now I see you have become a mature woman, and are ready to marry and start a family of your own."

"Start a family?" Astrid blanched. "I did not train for years, become one of the best dragon riders, one of the strongest warriors, just so I could throw it all away and pop out babies!"

"No one is expecting you to do that," her father said tiredly. "Look, we can talk about it tonight at the great hall. It will all be fine, don't worry."

"Don't worry?!" She roared. "How can you expect me not to worry when you won't tell me who I'm supposed to marry?"

"We can talk about it tonight," her father replied. "Now, the boats will be coming in soon. I'll talk to you later, dear." And with that, he left. Astrid seethed, and finally decided to let out her anger by launching an axe at the wall repeatedly. When the anger finally faded away, Astrid found herself absorbed with fear. Who was this man? What did he want with her? And when was all this arranged?

"I have to talk to Ruff," she muttered, and ran out to where Stormfly was lounging in the sun. "Come on, girl! To the Thorston's house!"

* * *

"What exactly did Stoick say?" Fishlegs asked, already pacing frantically. Hiccup had run to the dragon training arena to get some alone time, but instead he had found Fishlegs and Snotlout there.

Snotlout snorted haughtily at Fishlegs. "Weren't you listening, fish for brains? Stoick set up an arranged marriage! Our little Hiccup is finally going to be a man!"

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "To answer your question, Fishlegs, my dad said he had found a bride for me. Apparently he and the girl's father have been talking about this for a while now, and the agreement has been finalized. No backing out now."

"So who is it?" Fishlegs asked. "Anyone we know?"

"No idea," Hiccup replied. "My dad said it was a girl around my age, and that he knew she would be a good wife for when I'm chief."

"Maybe it's Slova!" Snotlout exclaimed. "She's rich, right? And pretty!"

"No, not Slova." Hiccup stroked his chin thoughtfully. "My dad also said the girl was smart. Slova is dumb as a bag of yaks."

"Perhaps this is to be a political marriage," Fishlegs suggested. "Such as Raquel, daughter of the chief of Storvenstein."

Hiccup raised his eyebrows in surprise. "That's...actually a possibility. There are dozens of kingdoms, and I know at least thirty of them have daughters."

"Then you really might not be able to get out of it," Fishlegs said gravely. "Stoick might be trying to form a new alliance, or strengthen an old one. The future of Berk might be riding on this marriage, Hiccup."

Hiccup slumped against the wall and stared up at the sky. The weather was ironically cheerful for such a gloomy day. "I'm screwed, aren't I?"

His friends could only nod. After a moment of silence, Snotlout quietly asked, "So...what about Astrid?"

* * *

"But what about Hiccup?" Ruffnut asked as she hurled a throwing knife at a target. Her brother's face was painted crudely onto the wooden target, already dotted with scars from the blade.

Astrid sat on a tree stump nearby, kicking a rock nervously. "I don't know! Frankly I'm more worried about who my dad picked out for me."

"Ooh, maybe it's Gobber!" Ruffnut said. "That would be fun, he could make you all the best weapons for free!"

"Uh...somehow I doubt Gobber would want to marry me," Astrid said with a laugh.

"Oh true," Ruffnut nodded knowingly. "Uh...what about Sven Hodder? He's pretty rich."

Astrid nodded. "It probably is a rich old guy, come to think of it. Dad said there was a lot of competition for my hand. Whoever this guy is, he must have had an offer that my dad couldn't refuse."

"Did your dad say anything about the guy?" Ruffnut asked.

"Just that he was a man from the village." Astrid groaned. "Oh, this sucks!"

"Hiccup isn't going to be happy," Ruffnut said in a sing song voice. "Maybe he'll challenge the guy to a fight!"

Tuffnut emerged from the house, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Who's fighting? Can I join?"

"None of your business," Astrid muttered.

The male twin stumbled over to stand next to Ruffnut's target, and eyed it critically. "Not a bad likeness," he said. "But you never get my nose right."

Ruffnut launched another knife at the target, this time landing square between the eyes. "Whatever! It still looks better than your face."

"Hey!" Tuffnut glowered.

Sensing a brawl brewing, Astrid moved to leave. "Well, Stormfly needs her breakfast...and I have to talk to Hiccup."

Tuffnut rolled his eyes. "Of course, Mrs. Haddock. Have fun making kissy face together." Astrid and Ruffnut froze and shared a look that made Tuffnut pause. "What? You and him fighting or something?"

Ruffnut's voice was unusually sober. "Astrid is going to be married off."

He froze, and furrowed his brow. "Oh. So...is Hiccup mad?"

"I haven't told him," Astrid said. "My dad only told me an hour ago..."

"So who are you marrying?" Tuffnut asked.

"She doesn't know," Ruffnut replied, already becoming exasperated with her brother. "Her dad wouldn't say."

Tuffnut nodded gravely. "So basically, no one knows anything, and everyone is freaking out."

Astrid sighed. "Yup."

"Then there's only one solution," Tuffnut announced grandly. "You and Hiccup must elope! We shall go to Gothi and have the two of you married at once. Ruffnut and I shall act as witnesses. We will then return to Dragon's Edge and build a hut for you and Hiccup to live in and start a family."

"Tuffnut," Astrid interjected, already blushing madly.

"True," he continued, "This betrayal of Berk's values will make Hiccup ineligible to become chief. But you two will enjoy a life of simple poverty on Dragon's Edge. The children will be raised by all of us, and we shall start a new Berk! A better Berk!"

"Tuffnut!" Astrid and Ruffnut yelled simultaneously.

Ruffnut slapped a hand over her twin's mouth. "Just shut up, okay? She's freaked out enough without you mentioning babies."

Sitting on her tree stump, Astrid began to rock back and forth. "I'm not ready to be a mom!" she squeaked.

Ruffnut shooed her brother back in the house and put a comforting arm around her friend. "Look, this is a mess of yak dung, I agree. But I'm not the person with the answers. Maybe Hiccup can help?"

"Help?" Astrid said, raising her eyebrows. "Help...how?"

"He could talk to his dad," Ruffnut suggested. "Stoick is the chief. If you really don't want to marry the guy, the chief could annul the agreement."

Astrid looked up at the other girl in shock. "Ruffnut...that might be the smartest thing you have ever said."

"Happy to help!" Ruffnut called cheerfully as she hurled another knife at her target.

High in the sky, Astrid grinned at the feeling of the wind in her hair, the sunshine on her fair skin. A beacon of hope had appeared. She might not be doomed. Maybe she wasn't doomed! She circled the village twice and saw Hiccup nowhere. The cove was empty as well. Finally, she decided to check the dragon training arena. And there he was, her Hiccup, his lean form shrugged against the wall, his fingers running through his shaggy brown locks. Hiccup, of course, had no idea that she was up there. Astrid landed Stormfly a dozen paces from the entrance to the building and jogged up the path with a grin.

"It all comes back to Astrid," Hiccup said. Astrid paused in the doorway and turned to stand behind the door, out of the boys' sights. The gravity in Hiccup's voice passed a clear message that this was a private conversation that she should not intrude on. But, she listened. Curiosity won over propriety.

"I mean, you two could just go to Gothi and elope," Snotlout said.

Hiccup sighed. "No, that wouldn't be right. It wouldn't be fair. We've only been together for a couple months, we can't get married so quickly."

"But you've been friends for years!" Fishlegs interjected. "Better to marry Astrid in haste than to be miserably engaged for a political marriage."

Astrid slapped a hand over her mouth to prevent her gasp from being heard. Hiccup was engaged? A political marriage?

"It's just not right," Hiccup muttered. "Astrid is great. I've been crazy about her since we were kids, you both know that."

"But you don't want to marry her?" Snotlout cried. "You should've said so earlier! I call dibs on Astrid, she needs a real man to marry her."

"Snotlout, shut up." Hiccup's voice was scarily thin. "I do want to marry Astrid. Just not yet. We're still young. We still have adventures to go on, dragons to find, places to visit. And I don't want to marry her just to get out of marrying someone else. It wouldn't be right to marry out of necessity. I want to marry Astrid when the time is right, and when we're ready for the responsibilities that marriage entails."

Astrid felt a smile grow on her face. So Hiccup wanted to marry her, huh? They had never discussed marriage before. Of course they had dreams for the future, but their dreams revolved around adventures with dragons, fighting dragon hunters, and discovering new islands. It was time to announce her presence.

"Hey!" Astrid called. She pretended to have just arrived, calling, "Hiccup, you in here?"

Hiccup waved and called "Yeah, I'm here." He walked over to give her a quick kiss on the lips, a nervous smile already in place. "What's up, babe?"

"I have to talk to you," Astrid said, trying in vain to keep the tremors out of her voice. "It's important."

Behind Hiccup, Snotlout and Fishlegs could be seen attempting to act casual, chatting loudly about the state of Berk's fishing industry. Hiccup waved goodbye to his friends and began to walk alongside Astrid, who motioned for Stormfly to fly home. Astrid slipped her hand into his and gave it a tight squeeze which he returned. They walked in silence, neither knowing what to say. They found themselves approaching at the beach and paused to look out over the ocean.

"It's beautiful," Astrid murmured.

Hiccup smiled and squeezed her hand. "Just like you."

"You're so cheesy," she said, and gave him a grin that faded quickly. "We need to talk."

"Okay." Hiccup sat and motioned for her to sit next to him. Astrid sat cross legged and turned to face him.

"Hiccup," she said, staring at the sand beneath her hands. "I'm engaged."

His eyes bugged out in shock. "What? When? How? To whom?"

"My dad set it up, I only found out this morning, apparently an agreement has been made, and my father wouldn't tell me who the guy is." She ran a hand through her bangs nervously. "I'm scared, Hiccup. I don't know what to do."

Hiccup put his hand over hers. "Trust me, I get it. My dad told me this morning that I'm supposed to marry some girl...no idea who it is."

"This is crazy!" Astrid cried. "We should decide who we marry. Our parents shouldn't just make an arrangement that determines our future!"

"But that's how it's always been," Hiccup said. "I never really thought about it until now, but it's a pretty bad system."

"I'm probably getting married to some rich old guy," Astrid groaned.

"I'm probably getting sucked into political marriage," Hiccup said ruefully. "Something to secure an alliance, I bet."

The two sat together in silence, hands held in mourning. Astrid held Hiccup's face in her hand and gave him the saddest look he had ever seen from her.

"I love you," she said. "I don't want to lose you."

"I don't want to lose you either." Hiccup pulled her into a tight hug, not caring who saw them anymore. "Even if it means betraying Berk's customs, losing my family, all of that, I don't ever want to lose you."

Astrid smiled. "You mean that?"

He nodded soberly. "Of course."

"Then let's tell everyone the truth," Astrid said urgently. "Let's tell them that we're together, that we're in love, and nothing they do will ever tear us apart."

"They'll want us to get married," Hiccup warned. "And I...I don't know if we're ready for that. We still have so much to do, so much to see...we're both so young!"

"Then we'll put it off!" Astrid said, a clever gleam in her eye. "If they want us to get married, we'll tell them that we won't marry until you become chief. That's the point when Berk will need you to be here and fully grown, and that won't come for a long time."

Hiccup stroked his chin thoughtfully. "It's a stretch, but it might work. But we'll need to stay strong. Who knows what people will say when they hear about us."

She grasped his hands in hers. "Whatever happens, I'm with you, babe."

* * *

That night, Hiccup and Astrid strode into the great hall hand in hand. Their friends walked in a line behind them, their own small army. Astrid and Hiccup stood in the doorway, their faces set in stone. One by the one, the village people looked over to see the young couple. The whispers began, a flurry of hushed conversation that filled the room like sparrows in a bird cage. Before any direct questions could be voiced, Stoick's vast form stood above the others. Next to him, Astrid's father stood as well, their faces filled with confusion.

"Father," Hiccup stated his words slowly, letting his voice fill the room and resonate with the strength of a dragon. "Astrid and I are engaged."

Silence. Then, Stoick's face crunched into an expression of confusion. "Who told you?"

Hiccup and Astrid blinked in confusion. "Told us what?" Astrid asked.

Her father stood with an equally befuddled expression. "That you're engaged! We were going to surprise you tonight! Who let the truth slip, hmm?" He began looking around the room sternly. "Was it you, Gobber? You never could keep your mouth shut."

"Wasn't me!" Gobber cried. "Don't be so quick to point fingers, eh?"

"Hiccup and I arranged this for ourselves," Astrid said slowly. "What are you talking about, dad?"

Astrid's father motioned for the villagers to quiet down. "Quiet, everyone. Astrid, come here, sit down. You too, Hiccup." The teenagers moved to sit down with their fathers.

Stoick took a breath. "For a while now, we have thought that you two would do well together. You're both smart, courageous, determined, and leaders of Berk. Astrid, I think you would be a wonderful woman to oversee Berk alongside my son."

"And Hiccup," Astrid's father said. "You are the only man who can keep my daughter's temper in check. I know you would keep her safe, and make certain that she was happy."

Hiccup nodded. "Thank you, sir."

"And that's why we arranged for you to be engaged!" Stoick cried happily. "We had this whole plan to keep it secret and then have a grand celebration where we surprised you! What happened?"

Astrid coughed awkwardly. "I, uh...I thought you were marrying me off to a rich guy, dad."

"I would never!" Her father cried. "Astrid, I've had many offers from many rich men, some even from other villages! I picked Hiccup because it's clear that he is the best man for you."

"And Hiccup," Stoick said, turning to his son. "It's been obvious since you were little that you couldn't stop thinking about Astrid. She inspires you, she gives you strength! So, I thought it was only natural that you two be wed."

"I agree, dad," Hiccup said with a smile. "But when do you expect all this to happen? In my opinion, we're both too young."

"How about we wait to marry until Hiccup becomes chief?" Astrid suggested.

Stoick grinned. "Sounds fine to me!"

"So everything can continue as it was?" Hiccup asked, a feeling of happiness finally settling inside of him.

"Of course," Astrid's father said. "You two are smart, responsible kids. We all know that. You may be engaged, but you two have always been friends first. I'm confident that you can keep your priorities in order."

Hiccup blushed slightly, understanding what "priorities" could allude to. "Of course, sir. I have to say...this is all turning out a lot better than I had feared."

"What, you think we'd marry you off to some strangers?" Stoick let out a booming laugh before catching Astrid and Hiccup's sheepish smiles. "Well don't you worry about that. I never did approve of marriages like that. How can a man and a woman be expected to have a happy life together if they marry as strangers?"

"Well, thank you both for everything," Astrid said graciously.

Later that night, Astrid and Hiccup shared a quick kiss and a loving glance before they mounted their respective dragons. Home to Dragon's Edge they went, this time with a certain future and a love that they were happy to show the world.

* * *

 **Well that was fun. I think these two are adorable together, and I'm still ecstatic that they were officially dating in the second movie (sorry if that was a spoiler!). Leave reviews for me, and feel free to send me messages!**


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